Allotment holder upset by shed fire

An allotment holder at in Kempston was left in tears after vandals broke into the site and burnt her shed down.

The perpetrators illegally entered the council-owned plots in the early hours of Saturday, July 19 and started a fire in Kathryn Gisborne’s shed on the Marlborough Park plots.

Shed fire in Kempston. ZaAqqkJGLt7izEUwN6AG

Kathryn from Kempston said: “It’s heartbreaking. I was in tears when I found out. My shed was set on fire and burned to the ground leaving nothing apart from charred remains and some metal parts of my tools where the wooden handles had burnt away.

“I took an allotment out in April 2013 and got round to buying a shed for it in December. I’m quite angry about this, I have put alot of time, effort and money into it and feel very disheartened. I also feel quite angry and I don’t know if I want to carry on.

“There were also remnants of metal chairs in the remains. They probably hopped over the gate. They also broke into other people’s sheds. The person next to me had his garden shears taken and thrown about. The fire melted my compost bins and guttering to collect water and my strawberries were singed. A local resident called the fire brigade at 4am. It just seems like mindless vandalism.”

A Fire Service spokesman said: “A fire crew from Kempston attended. One hose reel was used to tackle the fire and they left at 4.15am. No cause has been determined.”